Trailer for hauling automobiles



Aug. 29, 1950 w. sNlEzYK TRAILER FOR HAULING AUTOMOBILES 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Aug. 1o, 194s INVENTOR:

ATTORNEY.

Aug. 29, 1950 w. sNu-:zYK 2,520,698

TRAILER FOR HAULING AUTOMOBILES Filed Aug. 1o, 1948 2 sheets-sheet 2 wwwATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 279, 195() yuis-.i1iriao eerie-#E i on a level above. Theconventional trailers nw in use are 'limited'tatha-t purpose "alone sothat on areturn trip the trailers are empty, with a .resulting waste ofspace "which otherwise ihiglit lb'e ladap't'ed to carryiiigapayiiigload. ,.Il'have "therefore devised `a`trail`er which, while 'capable ofhauling automobiles, may also be used for hauling any merchandise thatmay be conveniently loaded into ordinary box type trucks and trailers.In designing my trailer I have taken care to make it structurally simpleand easy to make, and yet fully practical and adapted for utilization ofits great loading capacity.

I shall now refer to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a topelevational view of a truckV and my trailer attached thereto, the viewdisclosing in dotted lines automobiles carried therein;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of said truck and trailer with dottedoutlines of automobiles carried therein on two levels, one above theother;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of said truck and my trailer with apart of the sidewall of said trailer broken off to disclose structuralelements within;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4--4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The trailer improved by me and shown inthe drawings with a truck IBdesigned to pull it, is generally indicated by numeral I I. It is madein the form of an oblong rectangular body supported at the rear onwheels I2 and lpivotally supported at the front by means of a turntabledevice I3 upon the floor I4 of said truck I0. The sides I5 and the frontwall I6 which is arcuate in shape as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, are ofrigid construction while the rear may be provided with a door I'I,preferably a drop door which, hinged at the bottom I8, may be swungdownwardly from the hinges so as to provide an incline leading to thefloor 20. A pair of rails I9 disposed in a parallel spaced relation toeach other on said floor 20y provide a firm support for individualautomobiles 2I.

Disposed upon the floor along each sidewall of the trailer are aplurality of hydraulic jacks generally indicated by numeral 22. Eachjack .cronica-s. (Cistica-1li is Yade up f fail i'ipright 'c'ylinder'523 'lfaivihmg ftheifinafslideable:piston 24, ser-ving .as Eifer-a rodffeiitehding @upwardly through lfan aipierture V26 in ifa vtcp closure21 di said :'cyiindr. 'Slippdted fnthe Outer ithicknene'd ends l'fysaliti rods is a solid platform '28, the platform -fb'i'n'giecitanguiar` in shape but somewhat shorter fand rnarrower thansaid1flo`o'r 20. 'The sidesfand j'the iifront end of the vI'Jlatformvfare `connected "by p.rieans*of'flexibleteiitie :fabricl291to'theside's fand tlie'frorit vv'all's lof`b`0cily II fof fthevtraileralnig tithe up'pr rim thereof. jAttl'ie-lrea'r,ya:s'eplar'eft''estrip 30 of flexible textile fabric is affixed to the underside of saidplatform 28 for a purpose which will be described later on.

The jacks are operated by hydraulic means, such medium as oil beingconveyed thereto by means of pipes 3| from a pump 32 located on top oftank 33 which is mounted on the floor I4 0f truck I0. The pump may beoperated by the engine of the truck. The respective operative connectionof the pump to the engine and the arrangement whereby oil may besupplied to the jacks and conveyed therefrom to the tank, are well knownand need no description.

I wish now to describe the manner of use of my trailer.

To load the automobiles upon the lower floor of the trailer, platform 28has to be raised upwardly to a position shown in Fig. 5. This, ofcourse, will be effected by causing the pistons 24 to be forced upwardlyin the respective cylinders 23 under the pressure of oil pumped into thecylinders by pump 32. When the platform 28 is in a fully raisedposition, there will be ample space therebelow to drive automobiles 2|upon rails IS on fioor 20 of the trailer, the automobiles being arrangedin a row, one after another. Once these automobiles are in position, andsecured against displacement by suitable means, customarily used, butwhich are no part of this invention, platform 28 may be lowered bywithdrawal of oil from cylinders 23. This will cause pistons '2a to belowered in the respective cylinders 23 till the descent of said pistonswill be checked by the respective top .closures 21 of said cylinders.When platform 2'8 is in its low position as shown in Fig. 4, a number ofautomobiles may-be loaded thereon as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. Again, theautomobiles marked 2Ia and disposed on platform 28, have to be securedagainst rolling ofI.' by suitable means such as wedges under the wheels,braces, etc. according to the best known practice along these lines.

At this point particular attention is requested' o the fabric, inconjunction with the platform, will form a roof for the trailer, the topof the roof being formed by the platform itself, with the sides of theroof as made by the said fabric sloping downwardly tothe sides |'5 ofthe trailer, the front portion of the fabric sloping similarly to thefront of the body of said trailer.

rim of the door I1 I am using Van extra sheetof fabric 30 which, asabove described, is ailixed to the rear end of platform 28 and maybesecured along the lower rim to the door by means of 4 by the jacks andnormally disposed below the upper rim of the body, fabric meansconnecting the outer edges of the platform with the top rim of the body,means to operate the jacks to raise the platform above the upper rim ofthe body to make the platform and the fabric means form a roof for saidtrailer, and a door means in the body allowing access to the floor andto the platform.

2.A A trailer having an oblong body including 'vertical walls, a floorwithin, a rectangular platform above the iioor in a space relationthereto To cover the space at the rear above the upper land normallydisposed below the level ofthe upper rim of the body, hydraulic jackswithin the body to raise the platform above the level of vsaid rim,flexible fabric members between the edges of the platform andthe rim toserve with snaps, clamps, hooks or any other suitable means. As aresult, the trailer will be converted into a fully covered body Yintowhich a large quantity fof merchandise may be loaded and adequately`protected against all 4weather conditions. It will be understood thatsome changes maybe made j What 1,' therefore, wish to claim is asfollows:

V1. A wheel supported trailer for hauling automobiles, the trailercomprising an oblong body open at the top and having,- vertical walls, astafili() tionary floor within the body, a plurality of hydraulic jackson the floor, a platform supported crate Asaid jacks.

the'platform as a roof for the trailer when said .platform has beenraised to its uppermost position, door means for the body, and means toopo o WALTER SNIEZYK.

REFERENCES voii'rED .The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:V Y

I UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Y Y Name Date 2,168,069 Miller Aug. 1,1939 2,202,747 Roloson May 28, 1940

